Russian government services site requests ‘ideas for country’s development’ then rejects user’s proposal to ‘end the war in Ukraine’

Russia’s official public services portal, Gosuslugi, notified users of an upcoming forum titled “Strong ideas for a new era” and invited them to submit “an idea, a public initiative, or a project” that would contribute to “the country’s development” on an online platform created for the event.

Margarita Loginova, a journalist for the independent media outlet Verstka, submitted the following proposals: ending the war in Ukraine, holding fair elections, restoring press freedom, and releasing political prisoners. She added that these measures would “end the outflow of people from small towns, increase citizens’ well-being, and cause people to have more children.” The submission remained on the platform for about 15 minutes and, according to Loginova, garnered 15 “plus-sign reactions in support” from other users before it was removed.

When Loginova reached out to the platform’s technical support team, she was told that her proposal to “end the war in Ukraine” had to be “removed from the public eye” because it was “highly political” and would “provoke the development of a non-constructive discussion.”